I’m going to stop with the daily updates because they only serve to augment the rollercoaster ride my family’s on right now.
Mom’s return to solid (read: “real”) food is not working out. She is back to throwing up, severe nausea, and overall tiredness. In short, she is getting sicker again. I suspect this will kick the hospital staff into a different phase of diagnosis and treatment, as clearly just letting her pancreas “rest” for several days did not work. Sigh…
Leave it to us to take three cars to meet Mom at the hospital when a little planning would have reduced that number to just a single vehicle that had to pay for parking. 
In the span of 3 hours time, Mom had Thomas, myself and Dad all drop in and stay through her dinnertime.
Been a little slow to update since it’s only when I get back home that I post.
Good news from yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon is that the doctors finally let Mom start on a “light liquid” diet. Definition? Cranberry juice. By the time I arrived yesterday, she’d chased that juice down with jello, clear broth and a coffee (decaf).
This morning (Wednesday), Mom graduated to a “full liquid” diet which includes things like pudding, creamy soups, etc.
“Short” Version: Mom remains in positive spirits and her color and temperature have improved, but she is literally starving and bored and developing soreness from being stuck in bed for 2+ days now, with no end in sight to any of the above. Her facial swelling has also returned, though it doesn’t seem to be worsening. As she has been able to do since they stabilized her, she can get in and out of bed under her own power, but does so only to use the facilities as it’s a huge hassle with the IV tether (her “totem”, as Justin called it) to haul around. She has had no further tests done, other than blood drawn to monitor her lipid(?) and enzyme levels. She has flowers and a card by her bedside and all manner of “care package” items.
Mom and I were scheduled to go on the Becker Vinyard’s Lavender Festival Tour (Fredericksburg, Texas) offered by NISD Community Education yesterday (Saturday). Mom was going to ‘lead’ one of the two buses. Mom was feeling ill before we left, but as is her ability and desire, she persevered through the pain and we headed to the meeting locale. Mom disappeared to the bathroom, violently ill, and I was thrust into the role of ersatz tour coordinator/guide, checking people in as they arrived… all the while worried about Mom’s condition. She typically hides her pain and discomfort well, and that particular morning it was anything but hidden. Long story short, she goes to lie down in her car and I’m forced to continue checking people in on “my” bus until I’m finally allowed to leave (as if I would leave my mother in this condition and go on to manage a bus load of 35+ people for the entire day…) When I do arrive at Mom’s car, she is in a near fetal position trying to move as little as possible, and informs me she’s called my Dad to pick her up. We wait for Dad to arrive, and she rides home with him (slightly roomier vehicle) while I drive her ‘97 Camaro home. Late that night, Mom realizes she is fighting something worse than what she is accustomed to dealing with from time to time, and she feels so wretched she and Dad rightly decide the best course of action is to call 911/EMS. A full size pumper fire truck arrives, followed shortly thereafter by an ambulance, the latter of which takes her to St. Lukes Hospital, where she remains at this time. Diagnosis? pancreatitis
Source: My lifetime mileage database on GreenHybrid.com.
I just had to share… My mileage for my latest tank of gas? 37.3mpg! That finally bumps my lifetime miles per gallon (LMPG) — the big green number at the top — to nearly 31mpg.
This is for my 8th tank of gas, and includes trips hauling a 5 gallon can of deck/fence stain, various terra cotta pots, two big bags of potting soil, a wrought iron bird feeder pole and other items at various times.
My ‘06 Ford Escape Hybrid was at 2,788 miles on the odometer at fill-up time, so I’m not even officially ‘graduated’ at 3,000+ miles yet!
